AIESEC is the world’s largest professional organization for students and recent graduates in business and management, operating in 95 member countries and over 800 universities. It provides over 5,000 leadership positions, delivers over 350 conferences , and runs an exchange program that enables over 3,500 students and recent graduates the to live and work in another country. AIESEC US is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in the US.AIESEC Alumni includes 5 Heads of State, countless corporate CEO’s and the annual International Congress is typically opened at the highest levels of the hosting country – from the time I served I remember President Reagan and King Juan Carlos of Spain in this role.
Having been first VP of Marketing, then elected President of AIESEC in Hungary turned out to be a life-changing experience for me. While great fun it was also a real-life management crash-course: I have skills I would not have otherwise acquired; I enjoyed success and experienced failure that otherwise would have taken years into my career to experience.
I was a diplomat and student at the same time, representing my country at international congresses and voting on legislative issues as well as electing the International Officers. But the most important achievements were on the domestic front: I had the priviledge to lead the 100+ members out of a semi-legal status in then communist Hungary through the transformation into an independent, legally registered Professional Association. The new Association experienced explosive growth in terms of programs and membership, as well as expansion to new chapters.
As President I inherited a crushing deficit that threatened the very existence of the organization; I stabilized the budget; after a year of successful fundraising as well as profitable events paid off all debt, paid International dues for 5 years in advance, and left my successor enough cash reserves to cover the entire budget for another year.
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